1. Field of Invention:
This invention relates generally to air freshener units which release an aroma into the atmosphere of a room or other enclosure, and more particularly to a wickless unit of this type which is controllable, whereby the unit, when it is in an upright position, is switched "off," and when the unit is in an inverted position, it is switched "on" to discharge a fragrance vapor into the atmosphere.
2. Status of Prior Art:
As used herein, the term "aroma" or "fragrance" is not limited to perfume-like odors, but encompasses any odor that is suitable as an air freshener to condition, modify or otherwise charge the ambient atmosphere.
The aroma of perfumes and perfume-based products such as colognes and toilets waters was originally derived from the essential oil of plants. However, since the early 19th century, chemists have succeeded in analyzing many essential oils and in creating thousands of synthetics, some simulating natural products and others yielding altogether new scents. Perfumes today are largely blends of natural and synthetic scents and of fixatives which equalize vaporization and enhance pungency. In most liquid scents, the ingredients are combined with a highly volatile alcohol carrier.
One commercially well known air freshener unit is known as an "AIR-WICK," this unit including a wicking mechanism to draw an air-freshening liquid agent from a supply and to waft it into the atmosphere. Numerous methods have been devised which attempt to regulate the diffusion of volatile liquids with regard to the fragrancing or deodorization of an enclosure, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,550,853; 3,804,331; 4,014,501 and 4,094,639.
The prior patent of greatest interest is U.S. Pat. No. 4,413,779 to Santini in which a bottle filled with liquid fragrance is provided with a removable stopper on which is mounted a porous plastic dome. A pair of rigid wicks extend from this dome through the stopper into the liquid bath whereby liquid is wicked from the bath into the absorbent dome and is volatilized from the surface of the dome.
In prior art freshener units of the AIR-WICK or Santini type which make use of wicks to draw liquid from a supply, it is relatively difficult to turn these units off to prevent the discharge into the atmosphere of a vapor when no need exists therefor. In a typical situation, it is desirable to render an air freshener unit operative only when the room is occupied and to turn it off when the room is unoccupied; for if the air freshener unit is on continuously day and night, it will be exhausted in a fairly short period.
While prior art units have in some instances a degree of control, as by retracting the wick mechanism, they cannot, unless motorized, simply be switched on and off.